Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.23

Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 25th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th will be given a dividend of 0.23 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 7th.

Heritage Financial has increased its dividend payment by an average of 3.2% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 13 years. Heritage Financial has a payout ratio of 50.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Heritage Financial to earn $1.81 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.92 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 50.8%.

Heritage Financial Stock Up 5.4 %

Heritage Financial stock opened at $22.98 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Heritage Financial has a 1-year low of $15.50 and a 1-year high of $23.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $797.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.28 and a beta of 0.54.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.01). Heritage Financial had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 8.18%. The company had revenue of $48.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.87 million. On average, analysts predict that Heritage Financial will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Heritage Financial in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Heritage Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.67.

Heritage Financial Company Profile

Heritage Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Heritage Bank that provides various financial services to small and medium sized businesses and individuals in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, such as noninterest demand deposits, interest bearing demand deposits, money market accounts, savings accounts, personal checking accounts, and certificates of deposit.